Navigating Motherhood and Career as a Family Lawyer: A Fresh Perspective

I am excited to say that I have now returned from #maternityleave after having a little boy back in November 2022. 

Returning to work has felt like a milestone in itself.  It took me by surprise how emotional a transition it would be.  It felt scary at first to enter the real world again after being in a baby bubble for nearly a year.  However, attending the office during my keep-in-touch days did reassure me.  I was always made to still feel part of the team and I enjoyed a lot of understanding from all of my colleagues regarding my anticipation of returning to work – something I think most parents returning from parental leave have felt in varying degrees.  It also felt good to exercise the “lawyer” side of my brain again and know that my enjoyment for the job was still there. 

I now look forward to continuing my career post-motherhood.  As a lawyer, it can be very easy to focus on the law instead of the real families and lives impacted by decisions made.  However, I believe I have always had a child-focused approach to any separation with children and now recognise more than ever that any legal solution must work for the individual family and children. With child arrangements, the solution must also have adequate flexibility built into it to ensure that it grows with the family and adapts to any unpredictable scenario that will inevitably occur when raising children.

I hope I bring to work a fresh and new perspective in aiding our clients.  Family cases are of course not self-contained or one-dimensional and will often have issues which impact other aspects of a family’s life.  I think #motherhood has helped me to look at the bigger picture and to multi-task in considering all the various issues that could arise in #familylaw (as well as recognise issues which may arise in other areas of law and sign-post to the relevant expert).  I look forward to helping as many people as possible through a difficult time in their lives.